The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith: Extended Ending
by Weimlady
Summary: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith was running over by a considerable amount, so this part ended up on the cutting room floor. *wink* Now you can enjoy it in story form. Starts immediately after the on-screen ending.


"You were right, Sarah Jane. He _is_ amazing."

"And so are we," Sarah Jane responded, wrapping her arms around Luke and Rani's shoulders and turning her back on the spot in her attic where the TARDIS had just dematerialized.

Before she could take a step, though, the familiar wheezing, groaning sound filled the attic again. They all spun around to stare at the reappearing TARDIS with wide eyes.

The Doctor's head popped out of the TARDIS doors.

"Forget something?" Sarah asked, eyebrows up.

"Erm. No." His voice had that uncertain, ornery little boy quality to it that she remembered so well from his fourth incarnation. "I was just thinking. Erm. Well. I mean. The Judoon just grounded Clyde to Earth, didn't they? Not to a specific time."

Clyde's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Yeah, that's right!"

"Let me see that citation they gave you," Sarah Jane said. Clyde dug it out of his back pocket and handed it over. She peered at it for a second, then handed it to the Doctor. He scanned it quickly.

"Yes. Right here. Very clear. '_Blo ko sho no toh fro glo_.'" He looked at Sarah Jane with a beaming grin. "No time restrictions."

She just stared at him, green eyes serious but with the hint of a crooked smile on her lips.

"And, well," he went on, hurrying a bit in the face of her silent scrutiny. "Rani. Her parents won't know there's anything to forgive, will they? I can bring you back five minutes after we leave. No matter how long we're gone."

Rani turned to Sarah Jane, all big eyes and barely-kept-in-check enthusiasm. Sarah just gave a soft sniff of a laugh.

"OK, so, sometimes it didn't work out quite that way," the Doctor admitted, raising his eyebrows and pooching out his bottom lip. Then his eyes softened as he scanned his one-time companion's lovely face. "Always brought you back safely, didn't I?"

Sarah's eyes went out of focus as she slowly shook her head, remembering all the near misses and hair's breadth escapes they'd been through. She didn't dare put her young team in that position. Did she? But...he _had _always managed to get them out of whatever scrape they got into. She looked into his eyes. "Yes. You did," she conceded with a fond smile. "Just about."

"So we can go?" Rani asked excitedly.

Sarah Jane sighed and looked at the young woman.

"And, well, Luke," the Doctor continued. "He really should know what it's like to travel in the TARDIS. Since his mum did."

"Mum?" Luke asked, eyes big and hopeful.

"Oh, and how bad a bad guy would I be if I said no when he's standing here egging you on?" she asked the three, nodding toward the Doctor.

"Not...egging," the Doctor said defensively. "Just...inviting."

Sarah looked around and saw nothing but puppy-dog eyes trained on her. Four pairs of them. How could she fight them all? She rolled her eyes toward the TARDIS door. "Get in."

The kids shrieked with excitement and the Doctor, with an alarmed look, quickly jumped out of their way as they raced into his time ship and up the ramp to the console. He waited for Sarah to follow at a more grown-up speed, wrapped a long arm around her shoulders and walked up the ramp with her.

"So. Dinosaurs?" he said to Clyde.

"Oh yes," Clyde whooped.

"What kind?"

"T Rex!" Clyde shouted jubilantly with a double fist pump.

Sarah sucked air through her teeth. "How did I know that was what you'd pick?"

"Cause they're the coolest," the Doctor said, earning Clyde's undying admiration.

"If you get him eaten..." Sarah said in a warning tone.

"Sarah. Would I do that?" The Doctor looked wounded for a very brief moment, then exploded in a flurry of activity around the console. "Clyde, hold this button down. Rani, spin this dial when I point at you. Luke...well, you'll know what to do." Luke ducked his head to hide his pleased smile as he took up his place at one of the six sides of the console. "And Sarah Jane--just like when we towed the Earth back home." Sarah Jane stepped up to the console and rested her hand on a lever, then nodded at him.

"Right, almost a full complement. I only have to do the work of two. _Molto bene!_" He twiddled some switches, pushed a button, gave the others their cues, and the central column lit up and began to rise and fall rhythmically.

When the TARDIS juddered to a stop, Clyde, Rani and Luke raced down the ramp to the doors.

"Ah-ah-ah!" the Doctor called warningly. "Me first."

They stood back reluctantly while he opened the doors, stuck his head out, and looked from side to side.

"OK," he said, standing aside. "All clear."

They all piled out of the TARDIS and stopped in their tracks, staring at the gigantic ferns that surrounded them, taking deep breaths of the warm, humid, swamp-smelling air that had never been tainted by petrol emissions.

"Wow," Clyde breathed, awed. That didn't last long, though. "So, where's the T-rex?" he asked

"Right here," the Doctor said, nodding toward the ground in front of them.

Rani jumped back and hid behind Luke as they all peered down at the spot the Time Lord indicated. No gigantic carnivore with tiny front legs and a big tail was sitting there, though. In fact, there was nothing but a clutch of creamy-white oval shapes, piled loosely together in a heap.

"Mum's away hunting," the Doctor said.

"Eggs? Eggs!" Clyde said. "I could see those at the market!"

"Not that big," Luke said, eyeing the nest.

"Could if they sold ostrich eggs," Clyde said, still sounding miffed.

"Patience, patience," the Doctor urged. "They're about to hatch. If I give one just the tiniest boost..." He picked up one of the giant eggs, pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his inside jacket pocket, peered at the controls, put it between his teeth while he made a one-handed adjustment, then took it out from between his teeth and beamed it at the egg.

The leathery shell bulged. Then it bulged again. Then a tiny tear appeared in the top and little soft claws poked through. They tore at the eggshell rather spastically, managing to rip it further.

Clyde, Rani, Luke and Sarah all watched, utterly fascinated, as the miniature raptor struggled to emerge from its shell. This fragile little creature would one day be the King of the Thunder Lizards, a terror to its fellow dinosaurs and to generations of humans many thousands of years in the future.

The Doctor set the little beast, shell and all, back in the nest. It managed to free itself entirely from its casing in another moment, and sat, eyes blinking dazedly in the sun, waving its tiny arms about and swishing its little tail back and forth randomly.

"Oh, it's so cute!" Rani said, taking a step toward it.

The Doctor held out a long arm in front of her. "I wouldn't touch it," he said. "They're born hungry." The little thing gnashed its teeth experimentally as if to underline his warning.

Sarah pulled Rani back a step, and kept her arm wrapped around her shoulders protectively. "It's true, though, isn't it. Baby anythings are cute."

"Cute?" Clyde said. "A cute Tyrannosaurus?" He shook his head. "That's just not right."

The Doctor grinned. "It's the way your species is hard-wired, Clyde. Your infants are so helpless for so long. Adults have to be programmed to melt and go goo-gah over them so they'll be taken care of. And it carries over to the young of other species."

"I didn't go goo-gah over it," Sarah said defensively.

"You would have in a minute," the Doctor said with a big grin.

"What's that pong?" Clyde asked, lifting his nose in the air and taking a deep sniff.

The Doctor sniffed as well. "Whoops, Momma's coming back. Into the TARDIS, spit spot!"

Sarah and the Doctor herded the youngsters into the police box, then climbed in themselves. They didn't close the door quite yet, though, and Clyde, Rani and Luke all poked their heads out to watch.

"Oh. My. God," Clyde said as a shadow fell across the front of the TARDIS and the towering shape of momma T-Rex loomed over the nest.

"Happy now?" the Doctor asked Clyde, a huge grin on his face.

"Luke, Rani--pull your heads in. You want to lose them? Clyde, don't you dare step out those doors," Sarah said.

"But I can't see all of her from here," Clyde said. "Just a..."

"No," the Doctor said emphatically, grabbing Clyde by the back of his jacket and pulling him into the TARDIS.

"Aw, man," Clyde whined as the Time Lord shut the doors behind him.

Rani slapped herself on the forehead. "Oh! We should have taken pictures!" They all pulled out their mobiles and looked hopefully at the Time Lord.

"Souvenir photos will be on sale in the gift shop after the tour," he said, perfectly mimicking the tone of a bored museum tour guide. Then he grinned. "I love a bit of a shop."

The three teens climbed up the ramp to the console, followed by the adults. "Rani. Your turn," the Doctor said. "You wanted to go into outer space?"

Rani's eyes grew wide and round. "Oh, yes, please."

"Where?" The Doctor looked at her expectantly and her mouth flopped up and down a few times, no sound coming out. "Bit spoiled for choice, eh?" he said with a grin. "Did you just want to be in space, or to go to another planet, or..." He ended the sentence on a questioning note and waited for a reply.

"Ah," Rani said, still flummoxed by suddenly having her choice of the universe to visit. "Sarah Jane," she said, turning to the older woman. "You went to lots of other planets. RIght?" Sarah Jane nodded. "What do you recommend?"

Sarah laughed heartily. "It's not quite like telling you the best choice on the menu. As many places as we went, it was just a tiny sampling of the universe. The Doctor would be a better one to ask." She turned to her old friend. "What do you think? What would a teenaged Earth girl enjoy most? Is there a Zac Ephron world?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

"Sarah Jane!" Rani said, trying hard to be mortified but too excited to really make it work.

The Doctor gave Sarah Jane a warm look. "We never did make it to Floriana, did we?" Sarah shook her head. "I think Rani would like it there. And I always did mean to take you."

"Floriana?" Rani asked.

"Easier to show you than tell you," the Doctor said, whirling into action around the console, not bothering with co-pilots this time.

After the juddering and wheezing stopped, the teens stood and waited for the Time Lord's okay before rushing down the ramp. He was looking at Sarah, a smile playing on his lips. She smiled back. "Not Exxilon this time?" she asked.

One corner of his mouth quirked up. "I rarely make the same mistake twice," he said, his eyes still fixed on hers.

Clyde frowned, and poked Luke in the ribs with his elbow. Luke looked at him, startled, and Clyde nodded toward the Doctor and Sarah Jane. "What?" Luke said.

"Give up, Clyde," Rani said softly. "We'll have to tell him later."

"Perfumed flowers. Seas like warm milk. Sands as soft as swansdown," the Doctor was saying in a low, throaty voice, his smile growing warmer and more intimate with each word.

"Daleks, Exxilons and a city that tried to kill anyone who approached it," Sarah countered, but there was no harshness in her tone and her smile grew broader.

"Come on!" the Time Lord said, as if he'd only just remembered that he and Sarah weren't alone in the TARDIS. He led the way down the ramp and out onto Floriana.

Sarah felt her heart lighten for the first time since her disastrous wedding as she looked around her. Flowers everywhere. Colours she had no words for, because she'd never seen them before. Scents so mesmerizingly sweet that all she could do for a bit was sniff and savor them.

"Taste," the Doctor said as he plucked a petal from one of the blossoms and held it to Sarah's lips. She gave him a questioning look for a second, then opened her mouth and let him place the petal in it. Rani and Clyde rolled their eyes at each other, while Luke inspected the vegetation.

"Mmm!" Sarah purred. "Melts in your mouth!"

"What's it taste like?" Rani asked.

"Try it!" the Doctor said, draping his arm over Sarah's shoulders and leading her away from the TARDIS.

Sarah twisted her head back toward her young charges. "Don't wander off!" she said.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in agreement. "That's Rule #1!" He looked down at Sarah Jane. "Not that you were ever very good at following it."

She just laughed, then put her arm around his slim waist and leaned her head on his shoulder as they meandered through the field of flowers.

"I always wondered why a beautiful woman like Sarah Jane never hooked up with anyone," Clyde said softly as the three teens followed a discreet distance behind the Doctor and Sarah.

"Me too," Rani said with a knowing smile.

"What are you two talking about?" Luke asked, a bit querulously.

"Your mum. And the Doctor." Clyde waited for the penny to drop, but Luke continued to look baffled. "More than friends, if you ask me," Clyde added pointedly, leaning in towards Luke.

"Oh." The penny finally did drop and Luke swivelled his head to look at his mum. The Doctor was plucking another petal and feeding it to her, both of them smiling. "She told me. The other night. That there were men who were interested. But she couldn't let them into her life. You know. Because of what she does."

"Because none of them could measure up to a Time Lord," Rani said. Luke tilted his head and gave her a questioning look. They all turned to watch Sarah and the Doctor again. "He _is_ fit," Rani said. "And he obviously adores her."

The beach was just a short walk through flowered fields from where the TARDIS had landed, and it was most definitely as advertised. The humans all kicked off their shoes and marvelled at the softness of the sand. The boys rolled up their trouser legs and the three teens waded in the sea, which was, indeed, as soft and sweet as warm milk.

Sarah pulled off her long sweater and rolled her trouser legs up as well. "Come on," she said playfully to the Doctor as she waded into the sea. "Don't be a spoilsport."

He frowned at the water and gave Sarah a look. "You know I don't like to..." He stopped, and she grinned.

"I know. But...just this once. Come on!"

He sighed deeply, then bent over and pulled off his Converse and rolled up his trouser legs. He waded into the sea rather tentatively. "The things I do for you," he muttered, frowning down at the milky water.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

He paused a moment, then the frown softened. "Yeah."

"What's that?" Clyde asked, peering down into the water.

"What?" Rani was the closest to him so she stepped over to look.

"Right there," Clyde said, backing up away from the spot and inadvertently bumping into Rani. She, unprepared for the collision, sat down very suddenly in the water.

Clyde tried valiantly not to laugh. Really he did. But he failed. Miserably. "Sorry," he said, sounding much more amused than regretful, and offered her a hand.

"Sure you are," Rani said, taking his hand and giving it a good tug. Clyde overbalanced at the unexpected pull and went face-first into the water.

He emerged dripping. Rani grinned. "Sorry," she said.

"Children," Sarah Jane said with a warning tone. "That's enough."

But it was too late. Clyde skimmed his hand across the surface of the water and sent a gout of water over an already-drenched Rani. She retaliated, getting not only Clyde but Luke with her splash. He joined in and a three-way splash fest ensued.

"Oh, children," Sarah said, shaking her head.

"They are so...childish, aren't they?" the Doctor said, deadpan. "Children, that is."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Yes, they are." she agreed.

"A 900 year old Time Lord wouldn't ever be that childish. Would he?"

Sarah's eyes widened. "No. Nor would a...fifty-something human."

"Pish," the Doctor said dismissively. "You're still a child yourself."

"Am not," she said childishly.

"Are too," he said, reaching down and splashing just a tiny bit of water in her direction. It didn't actually hit her. Just fell a few inches short.

She gave him a warning look. "Am not," she said, splashing water on him.

"Oh," he gasped. "You did not."

"Did so," she said, splashing him again for good measure.

Then it was a free-for-all. The teenagers stopped their splashing at first, in shock as they watched the Doctor and Sarah splashing each other. Clyde was the first to recover, and he aimed a big splash at Sarah Jane.

"Oh!" she said, sounding horrified and glaring at him. He grinned at her, a tiny bit uncertain whether he should have done that. "Now you're for it!" She splashed Clyde, who splashed back with enthusiasm.

For the next ten minutes, it was hard to tell who was splashing whom, who was tripping whom, and who was having the most fun. When they finally walked out of the shallows and back onto the beach, they were all dripping wet.

Sarah looked at the Doctor, his brown hair plastered to his head, his pin-stripe suit drenched, and laughed. "Maybe we should show them the TARDIS wardrobe."

He pulled off his jacket, doubled it up and gave it a firm wring. "Good idea."

They dripped and drizzled back to the TARDIS, where Sarah and the Doctor introduced the teens to the wonders of the wardrobe. Even the boys got into the spirit of exploration, although they were more interested in the alien outfits than things they could actually wear without growing extra limbs. Rani and Sarah did some serious girl-bonding over the gorgeous clothes the Doctor had collected over the centuries, and eventually they all emerged in dry outfits.

"How many of those suits do you have?" Clyde asked when he saw the Doctor in a perfectly dry version of the pin-striped suit he'd been wearing in the water.

"Enough," the Doctor answered shortly, one eyebrow raised, in a tone that very effectively discouraged further comment.

As they gathered in the console room in their new finery, four knocks suddenly rang out. All the fun drained out of the Doctor's face as he stared at the doors of the TARDIS. He looked...worried? Definitely. Scared? The others had a hard time believing that, but it certainly would have been a scared look if it had been on a human face.

"You want me to get that?" Sarah asked, looking at him with a worried frown.

He shook his head. "No. It's...probably for me."

"I should think so," Clyde commented.

The Doctor squared his shoulders, straightened his spine and, with a determined clench of his jaw, walked down the ramp and opened the TARDIS doors.

"_Blo sho ko no gro toe fro_," the others heard a deep, gutteral voice growl. They peered out the door and saw a Judoon waving a piece of paper under the Doctor's nose.

"_Ko fo no cho bro lo,_" the Doctor replied. They conversed--argued? hard to tell with a Judoon--for a few minutes, then the Doctor closed the doors and headed back up the ramp.

All eyes were on him. "Busted," he said gloomily.

"What?" Sarah asked.

The Doctor nodded toward Clyde. "Took him offworld. In violation of his probation."

Sarah stared at him in amazement. "How did they know?"

"They're the enforcers," the Doctor said ruefully. "They have ways."

"Oh God," Clyde said. "How much trouble am I in?"

The Doctor gave him a reassuring glance. "None. As long as I get you home right away. And don't do it again." He fitted his actions to his words, rushing around the console, setting course for Sarah Jane's attic, late October, 2009.

In the blink of an eye, they were back on Bannerman Road. They all filed out of the TARDIS, then turned to look at the Doctor. "But...Luke didn't get his turn," Clyde said. "Go ahead. Take him into the future. I'll wait here." The tone of his voice said how hard that offer was for him to make.

The Doctor tipped his head forward and gave Luke a questioning look. "It's okay," Luke said in response. "I don't have to have a turn. Doing what we did was..amazing."

The Doctor smiled. "Well. We don't have to do it today. No point in annoying the Judoon if you can avoid it." He looked at Sarah Jane, then back at Luke. "Besides, you're already on your way into the future. One day at a time." He paused, then continued. "And it is such an amazing future. I couldn't show it to you anyway. I'd have to take you so far into the future. To where you..." He stopped again.

"To where I what?" Luke asked, concerned. Sarah Jane put an arm around him and looked at the Doctor with worried eyes.

The Doctor compressed his lips and stared at Luke, his brown eyes like glowing embers. "To where you..and your mum...and what you've done for this world...and what you still will do for this world...are forgotten." One corner of his mouth curled up. "And I'm not sure the TARDIS can go that far into the future."

Rani and Clyde's mobiles rang nearly in unison. They looked at the screens. "Mum," said Rani, taking the call.

"Me and all," Clyde said, also answering his mother's ring.

"I'll see them out," Luke said, waving at the Doctor. "Thanks!"

"Yeah, thanks!" Rani and Clyde echoed Luke's words and his wave, then they all three headed down the stairs.

Sarah stood, watching the door where they had disappeared, feeling the Time Lord's eyes on her back.

"Thanks," she said, not turning around. "That was a really nice thing to do. They'll never forget it."

"I should hope not," the Doctor said. She turned to look at him and saw his warm brown eyes studying her face. "Besides. I couldn't just leave you. Not after the day you had."

Sarah gave a low, bitter chuckle. "It wasn't one of my better ones," she agreed. "Thanks," she said again, this time on her own behalf.

He nodded. "It was nice having company. For a bit."

Sarah stood in silence for a moment. "I'm afraid to ask. But. Donna?"

"Oh," he said. "She's fine. Just...not travelling with me anymore."

Sarah gave him a questioning look. "I thought she'd be with you forever. Especially now that she's half Time Lady."

He looked away and she saw his jaw muscles clench. He was silent for so long that she nearly felt awkward in his presence, something that hadn't happened in a long, long time.

"Yeah. Well. Things happen," he finally said, still not looking at her.

She nodded silently. She wasn't going to push him. "They do, don't they," she said in a low voice. For the first time since they had flown off on their mini-adventure, Peter Dalton's face flashed in her mind's eye.

Their eyes met. And held. For a long, long moment.

Sarah sighed deeply, then smiled. "Don't be a stranger. Now that you know the coordinates." He gave her a crooked smile. "Anytime you need a bit of company."

"Thanks," he said, so softly she barely heard him.

She nodded, then straightened her spine. She knew how much he hated goodbyes. She was starting to hate them herself. "See you," she said, as brightly as she could manage, then turned to go.

"Sarah. Sarah Jane," he said. She turned around and saw that crooked smile again. "Rani says you don't like being called Sarah anymore."

"Depends who's calling," she said.

"I'm calling," he said simply. He held his arms out to her.

She stood staring at him, her eyes welling up. "Don't do this."

"Why?"

"Because...you hate it when I cry on you and get your shirt wet."

He dropped his arms to his sides and smiled at the memory her words evoked. "No I don't. Not anymore." His eyes went out of focus for a second. "I didn't really mind it back then. I just..well. Didn't quite know what to make of this little Earth girl who cared enough about me to cry over me." He stretched his arms out to her again. "Now I do."

She closed her eyes, then stepped forward into his arms. They held each other tightly.

"Mum." It was Luke, bounding back up the stairs. "Oh," he said when he saw Sarah Jane and the Doctor in each other's arms.

Sarah let go of the Time Lord and turned to her adopted son, wiping her eyes. "Yes?" she asked.

"Erm. Nothing. Sorry." He turned and scurried back down the stairs without a backward glance.

Sarah turned to the Doctor and laughed softly. She picked up one of his hands and pressed his palm to her cheek. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them to see a yearning look in his brown eyes.

"I'd better go," he said, his voice rough.

She nodded. "Planets to save, monsters to defeat."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Yeah. You know how it is."

She raised her eyebrows. "Yes. I do." He smiled at her firm agreement. "You don't have to wait till the fate of the world hangs in the balance to visit, you know," she said lightly. "You could just drop in for tea from time to time."

He grinned at that image. "Maybe I will."

She stepped back from him. "Bring some Metagonian fruit flies if you do. Haven't had those in an age."

His grin grew wider. "Will do."

"See you soon," she said, stepping back again.

He nodded. "Hope so." Abruptly, he turned, climbed in the TARDIS and closed the doors. Sarah stepped back further to be sure she was clear of the TARDIS artron energy field, then just stood and watched as the police box came and went, came and went, and then...just went.

"Me too," she said softly to the empty space. Then she turned and climbed down the stairs in search of her son.

THE END/p


End file.
